William mason



W. MASON. CARTRIDGE RELOADING IMPLEMENT.

8 Patented May 8, 1888.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC WILLIAM MASON, or new HAVEN, ooxnnorroor, ASSIGSOR rornn WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY.

CARTRIDGE-RELOADING IMPLEMENT.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 382,482, dated May 8, 1888.

Application fifed January- 9, 1888. Serial No. 260.226. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- A

Beit known that I, WILLIAM MAsoN, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improve ment in Gartridge'lteloading Implements; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Flgure 1, a side view; Fig. 2, a vertical central sect-ion of the lower lever,showing the upper lever in side view; Fig. 3, a modification.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of implements which are employed in loading metallic cartridges, and which are adapted to resize the shell which has been exploded and bring it again to its orignal size for its proper insertion into the chamber of the barrel; the object of the invention being the construction of a device composed of a pair of levers, and in which the full power of the levers may be employed within a short range of movement, and whereby there will be substantially no rubbing contact between the I lever bearing upon the head and the head itself; but parts ofthe invention are applicable to resizers in which other devices than hinged levers are employed for forcing the cartridge into the resizing-chamber; and the invention consists in the construction, as hereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claims. In Figs. 1 and 2 I illustrate the best construction of the apparatus embodying the invention.

A represents the lcver,which substantially forms the base of the implement. The said lever terminates in asuitablc handle, B, and O- the other lever-also terminates in a similar handle, the two lovers hinged together upon a pivot, a. The lever A is constructed with an opening, I), through its inner or face side, of a diameter slightly larger than the body of the cartridge at the head end, but smaller than the head of the shell, as seen in Fig. 2. The lever C is provided with a bearing-face, d, corresponding to said opening I) in the lever A. From the reverse or back side of the lever A the opening through the lever is enlarged and is internally screw-threaded.

Into

the inner surface of the follower.

this sermvtlrrcaded opening a follower, D, is introduced, being correspondingly screwthreaded, so as to be drawn from or forced toward the face side of the lever A. This .follower is chambered upouits i uside,correspomling to the shape of a complete cartridge,as seen in Fig. 2. in the follower is, however, considerably less than the length ofthe cartridge. The follower is provided with a suitable handle, I), by which it may be turned, so as to be drawn into or from the lever A, according to the direction in which the rotation is made.

The cartridge to be loaded or rcsizrd is introduced through the opening!) in the lever and into the chamber of the follower l). The followerisunscrewed or drawn from the lever until the flange of the cartridge shall nearly reach the inner face of the lever A, as seen in Fig. 2. Then the two lovers archrought together. The bearing (Z, coming directly upon the head of the eartridge,will force the shell downward and into the follower until the head comes to a bearing upon the inner face of the lever, as indicated in broken lines. Then the lovers are again opened and the follower screwed into the lever A, to again raise the head above the face of the lever, and a second pressure is produced by closing the lovers,

forcing the shell onto the bullet to a farther extent. Then the levers are again opened and the follower is turned still fartherinto the lever, which again raises the head from the inner face of the lever A. Then the lovers a re again closed, and so on, step by stop, until the shell has been forced to its full extent onto the bul- The length of the chamber 3 a (it) let. .The forcing of an expanded shell into the chamber of the follower contracts it by each ofsuch steps until finally it is brought to the required size, and-this resizing may be produced in the same manner upon the shell alone before loading, if desirable. After the complete loading or resizing, as the case may be, the shell or cartridge will naturally adhere to To remove the cartridge the follower is unscrewed. The flange of the cartridge resting upon the inner face of the lever holds the eartridge,whilc the follower will by such unscrewing be drawn therefrom, so that after a few revolutions of the follower the cartridge may be easily re moved from its place in the levers and a second introduced.

For convenience, one of the levers is provided with a recess, F, to receive the shell, and the other with a stud, f, as a capping device; but this capping device constitutes no essential feature of my invention.

By the employment of the adjustable follower 1 am enabled to make the opening for the cartridge close up to the hinged end of the levers, whereby the full power of the levers may be applied directly to the cartridge-head and yet permit the bearingd to operate upon the head with but a slight or substantially no rubbing movement upon the head; and this is due to the fact that I am enabled to govern the extent of projection of the cartridge above the face of the lever irrespective of the size of the cartridge with relation to the chamber into which it is introduced; whereas, were the chamber stationary upon the lever, as in the usual construction, the cartridge or shell to be resized would necessarily project so far above the frame of the lever that it would be necessary to make the chamber or opening for the cartridge at a considerable distance from the hinge in order that the working-face ofthe lever might be brought to a bearing with sufficient directness upon the face of the head.

The base with the adjustable follower may be employed with other forcing or setting devices-say as represented in Fig. 3,where the forcing device is represented as a screw. In this case the adjustable follower serves the same purpose as a powerful extractor to remove the cartridge from the chamber in the follower. I therefore do not wish to be understood as'limiting this part of my invention to any particular device for producing the foreing action of the cartridge to drive it into the chamber in the follower. v

I do not wish to be understood as broadly claiming a reloading implement havi ng'an adjustable support for the'cartridge, as such I am aware is not new.

I claim- 1. In a cartridge implement consisting of a base constructed with an opening adapted to receive the cartridge, but of smaller diameter than the head of the cartridge, the said opening enlarged below,the enlarged portion internally screw-threaded, combined with a follower screw-threaded upon its outer surface corresponding to the screw-thread of the said opening, and so as to be adjustable therein, the said follower constructed with a chamber in line with the said opening in the base and corresponding in shape to the exterior of the cartridge-shell, and thehottom of the chamber corresponding to the shape of the ball, the follower provided with a handle by which it may be rotated, and a forcing device, substantially such as described, adapted to operate in line with the said follower, substantially as specified, whereby said follower serves the double purpose as a support forthe cartridge and as an extractor for the cartridge.

2. The combination of the two levers A G, the said lever A forming a base constructed with an opening, I), therein in diameter less than the dianicterof the head of the cartridge, the other lever constructed with a workingface, d, corresponding to said opening, the said opening in the base below the face enlarged and internally screw-threaded, and the follower D screw-threaded corresponding to the Screwthread in said opening, the followerconstructed with a chamber in line with said opening and corresponding to the outer surface of the shell, the bottom of the recess corresponding to the shape of the bullet,the said follower provided with a handle, substantially as described-,rwhereby said fol lo wer serves the double purpose as a support for the cartridge and as an eiitractor for the cartridge.

\VILLI AM M ASON. 

